City's schools getting back to normal

Mike LaBella, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·3 min read

Apr. 15—Things are getting back to normal at Haverhill public schools on two fronts — returning students to classrooms full time and repairing the district's computer system after it was hacked.

As students return to schools full time in phases, the computer system was attacked by ransomware last week, forcing cancellation of school Thursday and causing problems with classes at the start of this week.

Superintendent Margaret Marotta said the school information technology department worked around the clock for days to get the hacked computer system working properly.

"This is a slow and tedious process," Marotta said about reversing the cyber attack which resulted in the district's computer system shutting down.

Marotta said remnants of the attack were found on about 140 computers and that technicians worked on each device to ensure they were all safe to reconnect to the district's network. She said the district's IT department received plenty of technical help, including from police, Homeland Security, the FBI and a cyber security company, but that it took time to do the work — a slow and methodical approach.

Classes were back in session last Friday with a mix of in-person and remote learning, officials said. Students in prekindergarten to grade four were in classrooms full time unless they are part of the Remote Learning Academy. Students in that academy are continuing online instruction from home. Students in the TEACH program and those at the alternative school at Greenleaf Academy were also back to classroom learning last Friday, unless they are enrolled in remote learning.

Students in grades five to 12 continued with remote learning from home last Friday as scheduled. Last week, those students had not yet returned to full-time classroom learning. Because there was no internet access in school buildings, teachers in those grades provided online instruction from their homes.

Fifth- and sixth-graders and high school seniors were scheduled to return to full-time classroom learning Monday of this week, but the attack on computers delayed that return until Tuesday.

Students and teachers at Haverhill High used their private internet services from home Monday to communicate with teachers after continuing problems related to the cyber attack. All other schools operated according to their full-time classroom reopening plans.

Students in grades seven and eight, along with high school freshman, sophomores and juniors, are scheduled to return to classrooms full time April 26, the week after school vacation.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Pfifferling said the cyber attack affected email, internet, Google Classroom, and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) phone systems, which are used in the central office and several schools. Before the system could be fully restored, every device that was connected to the network at the time of the attack had to be inspected, he said.

Marotta said despite the district's IT team working many hours, the group hit a snag and was unable to have internet access available in all schools on Monday.

She said the lack of internet access affected classrooms across the district where teachers conduct in-person and remote classes at the same time. Fully in-person learners and fully-remote learners experienced minimal impact, she said.

Marotta said a common time frame for a well-managed cyber attack recovery effort is one to two weeks. Recovery of the computer network is defined as getting the system back online so the school system can operate, she said.

"After we are back online and operational, there typically are several more weeks of work to be done making sure the IT management and (computer network) security infrastructure is effectively more robust than before the ransomware attack," she said.

Marotta told parents by email that although the school computer system will be operating this week, it will not be at full capacity for some time.

"Email is not yet up consistently," she told parents. "Please be sure to send any notes about dismissal changes or other important student needs in written form. Please be aware the situation is fluid and we will keep you posted as to any needed changes."